Poll: Do you trust or fund kickstarters?

[Aesir23]

Yes and no. I've never funded one due to a severe lack of funds. Also, I'm not sure trust is what I'd consider to be the right word in my case. There have been a few I've followed and considered supporting when they were still taking donations past the kickstarter's deadline (if it was successful). I genuinely hope these games turn out well but while some have looked wonderful, others started to stray into "Too good to be true" and "Not sure it's possible" territory when it came to developer promises. So it's definitely made me glad that I've been so reluctant to support one thus far.

 

[lacktheknack]

Only if I know the people funding it. inXile Entertainment had Brian Fargo on board, so there's that. Obduction had Cyan Worlds doing the fundraiser, so I funded them. That's all so far.

Although the Potato Salad Kickstarter is really, really tempting.

 

[Strain42]

I trust Kickstarter as a thing. Beyond that, you have to make a judgement call.

Now I've funded several Kickstarter projects that have gotten made. Thanks to Kickstarter I own the documentary Stripped, with artwork by Bill Watterson, and a few iOS games like Professor Cats Mazing Machine and Detective Grimoire by the Super Flash Brothers.

Some are funded and my rewards are on the way.

And you don't even get charged if the project fails, so it's not a huge deal.

 

[Lilikins]

And you don't even get charged if the project fails, so it's not a huge deal.

How do you mean this? Ive always assumed, kickstarter=you pay for them to 'make' it, so to speak.
My thoughts were along the line of..well yeah, lets say I fund 5 euros/$/wtv to help the funding of the game, so the second that I give them my money to make their stuff, I am getting charged seeing as I 'gave' them the money to do so?

 

[Scarim Coral]

While I would like to however in reality I am too much of cheapskates to do so. Ok sure I do something buy stuff that I may not need in the long run but not enough for me to throw away my money that easily.
As for trust, it depend on the people who are asking the fund themselves.

 

[Strain42]

And you don't even get charged if the project fails, so it's not a huge deal.

How do you mean this? Ive always assumed, kickstarter=you pay for them to 'make' it, so to speak.
My thoughts were along the line of..well yeah, lets say I fund 5 euros/$/wtv to help the funding of the game, so the second that I give them my money to make their stuff, I am getting charged seeing as I 'gave' them the money to do so?

Say somebody wants 5,000 dollars to make a sandwich container with a built in timer, so you can set it to toast your sandwich a few minutes before your lunch break starts. I would use this, because I love dumb crap like that.

So I donate 50 bucks to this project, which according to the site guarantees that I get not one, but TWO of the...Toasty Sacks (I dunno what they'd be called)

But at the end of the 60 day period, Toasty Sacks only reached about 3 grand (probably because their name sounds like some weird testicle reference...)

I do not lose that 50 bucks that I gave. You are ONLY charged for a Kickstarter project at the end of the project's limited time, and ONLY if the project succeeds.

Some crowdsourcing sites are different. I know there are some that take your money whether they project succeeds or fails. But yeah, with Kickstarter the projects you back either succeed and you pay, or they don't and you don't.

There's really very little risk to Kickstarter as a thing. The only problem comes from the people making the project you backed might not be so speedy getting the stuff out that they promised.

Like I helped fund Colossal Kaiju Combat, and the first game, Kaijuland Battles was supposed to be out at the end of 2013. It's taking them a while, but they're still making it.

 

[duwenbasden]

I will only give if the perceived value of previous endeavors exceed the amount I paid to that kickstarter. The only one I've given money to is Dr. Ashen's movie, since my $30 contribution is nothing compared to the amount of entertainment I got from his Youtube channel.

 

[JediMB]

I'm fairly selective about my Kickstarters (much like I am with pre-orders these days), and the most recent one I backed was over 8 months ago. Crowdfunding is a great tool for producing things you'd never get through the traditional publisher-funded model, but certainly you have to choose carefully where you put your money.

 

[Lilikins]

Say somebody wants 5,000 dollars to make a sandwich container with a built in timer, so you can set it to toast your sandwich a few minutes before your lunch break starts. I would use this, because I love dumb crap like that.

So I donate 50 bucks to this project, which according to the site guarantees that I get not one, but TWO of the...Toasty Sacks (I dunno what they'd be called)

But at the end of the 60 day period, Toasty Sacks only reached about 3 grand (probably because their name sounds like some weird testicle reference...)

I do not lose that 50 bucks that I gave. You are ONLY charged for a Kickstarter project at the end of the project's limited time, and ONLY if the project succeeds.

Some crowdsourcing sites are different. I know there are some that take your money whether they project succeeds or fails. But yeah, with Kickstarter the projects you back either succeed and you pay, or they don't and you don't.

There's really very little risk to Kickstarter as a thing. The only problem comes from the people making the project you backed might not be so speedy getting the stuff out that they promised.

Like I helped fund Colossal Kaiju Combat, and the first game, Kaijuland Battles was supposed to be out at the end of 2013. It's taking them a while, but they're still making it.

Ah ok, I get that now, thank you very much for the clarification and explanation hehe. It does of course make sence that way seeing as in a way it would 'technically' be stealing then.

PS: Toasty Sacks...that should totally be a thing.

 

[fight me in space]

I don't donate to Kickstarters for the same reason I don't give money to bums; there's no guarantee of what they're going to do with the money I give them. They could deliver the product I pitched in for, or they could cease production because the sun told them not to do it. Or they could use the money to make the product, and then destroy all of them in a public mental breakdown.

If the product is being sold, then I'd be all over it, but I'm not paying a cent for something that's only in the conceptual stages.

 

[Something Amyss]

I've funded two. As a rule, I don't. There are a couple more I might have funded had I known about them.

I don't trust the process any more than I trust any other business or service. I trust Kickstarter like I trust Steam or Wal-Mart.

 

[Callate]

Not... recently?

The first wave of Kickstarters, when the idea was fresh and new, I supported half a dozen or so, mostly in smaller amounts (usually at about the "get one copy of the product" level.) With the exception of Clang, none of those has failed to come through; I don't have any huge regrets.

At this point, though, there's something of a "gold rush", and a much greater sense that a) even some of the groups with a professional or semi-professional history may not really have a good understanding of the time and money pressures involved in actually getting their projects off the ground, and b) there are groups out there entirely with the intent of trying to scam the crowdfunding community, with no real intention of following through.

So at this point, to give money I pretty much have to support the underlying idea at least as much as the product, to the point that my contribution is more about saying "Yes, this is a thing that should exist" as actually wanting to have it. Charity, effectively.

It doesn't happen often.

 

[KingsGambit_v1legacy]

I have funded a couple of handfuls of Kickstarter campaigns, all for video games. A couple didn't make their funding goal (Outcast HD, Nexus II) and another couple were cancelled despite meeting their goals.

Of the ones that were successfully funded, Legends of Dawn has already been released, Project Eternity is my most highly anticipated game this year and I'm looking forward to many others. Star Citizen is looking phenomenal and I gladly backed a PC space game since "AAA" won't. If it's not a console military shooter with RPG elements, AAA aren't interested, but these are not games I want to play. By funding Kickstarters for games and concepts I *want* to play, I hope that by "voting with my wallet" I'll show "the industry" what I want (even if I'm likely in a minority).

The fact that I get a copy of the game on release to boot is a welcome bonus, but I appreciate that I may get nothing. I am supporting projects I want to succeed. Currently I'm backing:

Successful:
Torment: Tides of Numenera
Dreamfall Chapters: The Longest Journey
Legends Of Dawn
The Phoenix Project - City of Titans
Forsaken Fortress - the survival RPG
Star Citizen
Project Eternity

Unsuccessful:
Outcast Reboot HD
PROJECT AWAKENED
THORVALLA an RPG by Guido Henkel (Canceled)
SHAKER: An RPG by Brenda Brathwaite & Tom Hall (Canceled)
Nexus 2: The Gods Awaken (PC & MAC)

Project Eternity was the first one. When I heard about it, being done by Obsidian no less, I had full faith in it. That was the project that convinced me to contribute. The sad fact is that we have seen the games ActiBlizz, EA and Ubi are giving us...homogenised, mass-market garbage. I don't want Dead Space 3, any more CoDs or AssCreeds, I never wanted them. I want more like the above. And if AAA won't fund them and I, along with countless others, can, then I get what I want, developers get paid, innovation stays alive and the "industry" is better for it.

I have faith in every one of the projects I backed, most are from developers that have earned a reputation for delivering great games. I wouldn't trust an unpolished pitch or a one-man show.

 

[Uriel_Hayabusa]

I've yet to donate to any Kickstarter, and at the time of writing I've no plans to change that.

That being said, I have enjoyed products that have come out of it. Shadowrun Returns for example, oh and Shovel Knight looks fun too.

 

[Yopaz]

There isn't really a yes/no answer here.

You don't trust Kickstarter, Kickstarter is a website that allows numerous of people who may or may not be known within their medium from before. Some of these people may deliver a product, but as a backer you must be aware of the fact that the final product may not live up to your expectations. That's the most important rule there is.

There are projects that I have backed and loved. There are projects that I have backed and just forgotten and there are projects that I haven't backed because I doubt the final product. Shadow of The Eternals is one such game. It was being made by people involved with generally crappy games, it had a rickety development progress so I figured I wouldn't back that. Then later one of the big guys involved in the project was arrested. I am glad that project didn't hit its target so no-one lost their money.

I might fund some of them and I might trust some of them, but I never shell out a lot of money. Although these days I don't have time to play games so I rarely even buy games.

Also, if someone does a Kickstarter and just disappears with the money that goes against the terms of service and the law in most countries. So there is a punishment for that stuff such as lawsuits and even prison. Remember: Laws are still valid on the internet.

 

[veloper]

Just a couple projects, for low amounts.

I don't really trust, but I can give sometimes the benefit of the doubt to promising and sympathetic dev teams, that I love to see meeting their goals.
I also believe I have some sense of which kickstarters are less likely to fail, post funding.

 

[Redlin5_v1legacy]

I trust Star Citizen because of my experience with the Creative Director's previous games.

So far, that's the only crowdfunded project I've put money into. Nothing else has engaged me like SC has and I doubt it will be a long time until something new comes around that just hooks me in before release in a similar fashion.

 

[The Goat Tsar]

I wouldn't fund them even if I had the money.

Yep, pretty much my attitude. I can't really afford to throw money behind an idea that may or may not come to fruition. And even if I did...eh. I'd rather get something that already exists.

 

[symphonymarie]

I fund Kickstarters that involve potatoes.

But genuinely, the only crowdsourcing things I actually have given money towards are those either involving people I know. I would definitely consider funding strangers, but of course I would be concerned about whether or not my small donation would be actually going towards the said project. That said, I doubt I would ever donate enough to a cause for the lack of resolution to be anything more than a passing annoyance, so I suppose it wouldn't really hurt?

 

[klaynexas3]

I trust the one I funded, as I have been following the guy on the internet for at least 7 years now. Besides that, I wouldn't trust that many of them unless they are done by professionals, or they're big enough that if they bail, they won't get away with it.